Neighbors oppose Buzzy’s Taxi site

April 11, 2012

by Brittany Schweiker

Long taking in Hudson Park resident’s complaints / Brittany Schweiker

Residents of Myrtle Avenue and Park Avenue came to City Hall Wednesday to air their grievances about neighborhood business, Buzzy’s Taxi. Five different homeowners took the floor with complaints ranging from traffic concerns to gas fumes.

Long Properties Inc., representing Buzzy’s before the Board of Zoning Appeals, requested permission for a variance for the 9,000-square-foot red-brick garage at 160 Myrtle Ave., with an adjacent parking lot at 217 Park Ave. The proposed property is considered to be in a residential zoning district, however the company was granted temporary permission last year to operate commercially from the site.

The board reserved decision on whether or not to allow the taxicab company to continue its lease with Realty USA. Arguments were presented from both Long Properties and members of the Hudson Park neighborhood.

Although many of the neighbors acknowledged the friendliness of Robert Long, president of Long Properties, Inc. and their taxicab neighbors, they did not think that simply being nice was good enough of a reason to put up with the frustrations they have claimed to deal with since the company moved in a year ago.

Several citizens from the Hudson Park neighborhood asked for the variance to be denied because of the number of children and elderly in the area. With several schools and parks surrounding the neighborhood, many claimed that the added traffic could be hazardous to an already busy area. However according to Anthony Sabatino, who was representing Long Properties, Inc. as the property’s broker, the cab driver’s schedules do not coincide with the times children would be out and around the neighborhood.

“The hours when children are playing are nine in the morning to five in the afternoon,” he said. “These cabs go out at 5 p.m. or 5 a.m. … [they] do not come anywhere near the property otherwise … they are out doing what they do.”

Sabatino, also said the company’s 10 cabs are rarely on the property unless an employee calls in sick or the cab has a minor issue, such as a flat tire, and is not approved to be on the road. However their immediate neighbors argued that is often not the case.

Stacey Langdon, who has lived in the apartment backing Buzzy’s parking lot for 12 years, said the cabs are not only regularly on the property, but are often backed up so close to her home that she can open her window and touch the cabs without much of a reach.

“We cannot have our windows open ever because of the noise of the cabs [and] the language of the employees,” she said. “The fumes from the vehicles were coming into my apartment, and I have severe asthma, causing me asthma attacks.”

Sabatino rebutting claims against Buzzy’s Taxi / Brittany Schweiker

With the attacks mounting, Sabatino tried to stress the importance of supporting development in an area where many businesses left long ago. “We have not had a lot of success getting tenants coming to this area,” he said. “We want to keep businessmen in Albany… that’s the things we are trying to do.”

Although some may believe that the Hudson Park neighborhood may be in need of a few commercial properties, residents of Myrtle Avenue and Park Avenue said that the trade off may not be worth it.

“I am not the only one affected by this,” Langdon went on. “My neighbors are also having problems. It’s just too close in proximity.” -30-